Motion & Forces Unit Vocab Flashcards
Vocab Flashcards
Distance
Describes how far an object has moved.
Displacement
The distance and direction of an object’s change in position of the starting point.
Speed
Distance an object travels per unit of time.
Average Speed
The total distance the object travels divided by the total time of travel.
Instantaneous speed
The speed of the object at a given point in time.
Velocity
The speed of an object and the direction of its motion.
Acceleration
The rate of change of velocity.
Force
A push or pull.
Net Force
The combination of forces acting on an object at any given point.
Balanced Forces
Forces acting on an object of equal size and opposite direction.
Inertia
The tendency of an object to resist any change in its motion.
Newtons Second Law of Motion
The acceleration of an object is in the same direction as the net force acting on the object.
Friction
A force that opposes motion between two surfaces that are in contact.
Static Friction
Friction that acts on objects that are not moving.
Sliding Friction
Friction that occurs when one solid surface slides over another.
Air Resistance
Opposes the motion of objects that more through the air.
Gravity
An attractive force between any two objects that depends on the masses of the objects and the distance between them.
Weight
The gravitational force exerted on an object on Earth’s surface.
Centripetal Acceleration
Acceleration toward the center of a curved or circular path.
Centripetal Force
The net force exerted toward the center of a curved path.
Newtons Third Law of Motion
States: to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Momentum
The product of objects mass and velocity.
